Divine Roles Across Cultures Matrix

University of Phoenix Material

Divine Roles Across Cultures Matrix

Select one common divine role that recurs in world mythology.

Possible options of divine roles include the following: father or mother divinities, divinities of war, home or hearth divinities, divinities of love, divinities of wisdom, divinities of medicine or health, divinities of the wind, divinities of agriculture, divinities of the sky, ruler of all the gods, and so on.

Identify the role in the title of your matrix.

Select two myths, each from a different culture, in which the divine role appears. Identify the divinity names and cultures in columns A and B.

Complete the matrix by answering each of the five questions for both selected divinities.

Title: Creator | Column ADivinity Name: OdinCulture of Origin: Norse | Column BDivinity Name: AtumCulture of Origin: Egyptian |

1. How is this divinity portrayed? Describe the divinity’s role within the myth. | Odin is the son of God and Giants. He would use the dead body of the first giant Ymir to create the world and tree trunks to create mankind. | Created itself out of nothing and created the first hill. Atum gave birth to several Gods that would create earth, and order. The tears of Atum created mankind. |

2. Is the divinity male or female? What function does this gender play? | Odin is male. I don’t believe that gender played much of a role concerning creation. Norse mythologies saw men as the natural answer to who a creator and ruler of Gods to be so their powerful god was thought to be male. | Atum was asexual which allowed for self-creation of more gods to follow. |

3. Within the myth of origin, how does this divinity compare with other divinities? How does this divinity interact with or compare to divinities of the same gender and to divinities of the opposite gender? | Odin was a god that was made from Gods and Giants, unlike other divinities. Like many other gods, he was responsible for the...